Before the conversation on gun law takes place; before attempts are made to label the shootings at Newtown a result of under diagnosed or mistreated brain problems; while parents are burying their children, I think it best, if we sit awhile with the awareness of just what unmitigated evil is. Contemplate the violent deaths of children, in front of other children; the pain of the mothers and fathers that when their experience is only imagined by us, wounds us; the senseless, ugly violence and death shown to us. Yes, this is what evil is, demonstrated in Connecticut in such a way that there can be no denying its reality or its absoluteness.

For a long time now, the concept of absoluteness has been out of vogue. We live in a culture that disdains truth, preferring individual perceptions as the guide to living well. Since nothing is absolute, everything becomes relative. The goal is the happiness of the most, damn the few that may be damaged by the wants of the many or the powerful. The pleasures of a hedonistic lifestyle supplant the use of moral strictures emanating from Judeao-Christian ethics when individuals, families, corporations and governments contemplate actions to take.

So when we are confronted by evil, why are we surprised?

The intrinsic value of every human life is demeaned in an America that pretends not to know when life begins and unceremoniously kills its unborn children daily.

Maturity is discouraged when schools across the nation distribute birth control with the message that no impulse need be denied, regardless how fleeting, base, or consequential.

Every family is undermined by public policy and practice that denies children do best when conceived and raised by “birth” parents committed to a lifelong marriage, that problems in a relationship may be solved.

Community safety is threatened when media entertains with gratuitous sex, violence or a mixture of the two on television, computers and in music.

Pharmaceuticals flood our nation with promises of a better life, regardless of the damage done to women and men and subsequent generations. Evidence mounts that popular psychiatric drugs dangerously impairs a certain subset of the population while the marketing of these drugs continues to all. Estrogen in the environment may interfere with everything from sperm counts to children’s ability to relate normally.

Military grade weapons are readily available to just about everyone since our leaders were unwilling to spend so called political capital and extend the assault rifle ban, putting every group of people at risk for sudden anonymous death.

So when a critical mass of effects converge, a result of our “modern” thinking and an individual acts out heinous evil either by demon or decision, why are we surprised? Evil breeds evil.

Perhaps after we have internalized this, the absoluteness of this evil, we will remember that there is also absolute good. Certainly the haunting, heartbreaking recollections of the first graders’ lives will remind us. The love of God, the love of family, the love of a nation is further evidence of that goodness. Good and evil remains mystery to us. But perhaps if we nurture the absolute of truth, if we insist on accountability and actions directed toward the good, from ourselves and one another, we will kindle good from this horrible tragedy.

A week after the general election, I am still having trouble understanding just what happened here. It is incredulous that after a multibillion dollar presidential campaign season, preceded by a week of volatility in polling data, and with tight margins reported by swing states where polls were barely closed, a winner was declared. Barely two hours later, the candidate that spent at least two years vigorously campaigning, concedes the election. The crowds cheer, the balloons drop and it’s all settled. But not in my heart or mind and I dare say, not in those of many other voters as well.

Anyone who has worked in an organization of any size knows how difficult communications can be. Even when seasoned employees are trained on familiar equipment, miscommunications and errors can abound. Poll workers were retrieving data from electronic voting machines that were reported to have difficulties as early as a week prior to Election Day and had only recently replaced the old fashioned levered machines. Yet we are expected to believe that votes were accurately tallied, including votes from states so devastated by Hurricane Sandy that it was impossible to get simple gas pumps working.

As the weeks preceding the election drew to a close, we repeatedly heard that this election would be among the most significant in our nation’s history. That commentary made sense to me. Fundamental freedoms, like religious liberty were being debated. The structure of the family unit was on the ballot in several states. Who should be taxed and how much were significant questions. A commentator on one of the networks said, as states were being assigned to the candidates, that the projected wins were based on early returns and exit poll data. Not good enough. We live, I thought, in a country where the actual results of a secret ballot were what mattered.

On Election night, I was remembering a conversation that allegedly occurred between candidates Gore and Bush in 2000. A phone call was to have taken place in which Mr. Bush said something to the effect that Governor Jeb Bush, had said Florida was to go to Mr. Bush. Mr. Gore replied along the lines of, “I didn’t know that Florida was your brother’s to give.” It was chilling to hear, but perhaps it gave us a glimpse of Election Days of the future. We live in a global world, structured by transnational corporations and managed by international governmental entities. Have we lost control of our right to influence our governance by the vote? Who will tell the people?

In response to a recent posting, a commentator stated that it is necessary that “Western Culture” understands “American Values” are not to be intermixed as “Christian Values.”

Let’s distinguish between religious doctrine, principles and values.

Jesus Christ died on a cross so that all men and women might have life eternal in the hereafter and life in abundance here. That is the religious teaching of my church and my personal belief. And it is absolutely correct to say that no person, organization or government has the right to impose that belief on another. Values though, are different from religious teaching.

As a member of a church that teaches human dignity, I advocate for laws and policies that do just that. For example, the principal of human dignity recognizes that human beings are from animals. Cultural values, laws and policies develop regarding the treatment of each, e.g. laws are quite different regarding the disposal of a human or animal life; the “products” that might be derived from each differ; animals are not compensated for work.

Being a member of a church that includes among its basic tenets the belief that all men and women are created in the image and likeness of God does not disqualify me from advocating policies that insist on respect for the human person. Neither, by way of example, would an atheist linguist be denied advocating for laws regarding human dignity based on his appreciation of humans’ ability to communicate.

American values and Christian values have been intermixed since the formation of the colonies that led to the establishment of this nation. Take a few minutes to reread the Declaration of Independence, or the Gettysburg Address. Contemplate the reasons that Americans were willing to lay down their lives on the beaches of Normandy. Consider the role of ministers like Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King in the struggle for civil rights. The examples go on and on.

The intermixing of “American” and “Christian” values is politically legitimate. When values emanating from Christian social and moral teaching are eroded, so is the cultural fabric of our society.

Listening to NPR this morning I heard a promo for a story about Catholics – that is “new” and “old” Catholics. Let me guess – old Catholics will be presented as those interested solely in the issue of abortion, with preferences for the Latin Mass, incense and all things Vatican, conservative, and male. The new Catholics will be portrayed as progressive, just, unconditionally supportive of American religious sisters and allergic to incense (well maybe not allergic to incense).

Unless I am pleasantly surprised, these are the caricatures that will be used to describe American Catholics throughout the election season. The most important and unifying belief of the Catholic faith, that Jesus Christ, only son of the living God, who offers us redemption through his historical life, death, and resurrection, and who gives us life in abundance, now and through eternity, will not even be mentioned. That truth of, and from, God, is to be sought, will also be disregarded.

This tactic is old and an effective method used when the desired outcome is division. Division and discord assists some people to maintain their interests which just may be their own (individual and corporate) power, privilege and personal pleasure. The discord sown among Catholics serves to distract them from actually evaluating policies and practices of elected leaders in the light of the Gospel message and the truth of the situation.

Our nation, our community and our families are in serious trouble. Made in the image of God, every human person has a life of value and worthy of protection, albeit an infirm person; an unborn child; or a suspect confronted by another with arms. The presumption is that life is to be preserved. Remembering this may return us to sensible policies regarding sex education, health care policies and law enforcement.

Jesus’ miracles with loaves and fishes remind us that there is enough, that there is an abundance of resources when greed is suppressed, work is justly rewarded, and empathy is encouraged . But if human dignity not promoted , justice cannot flow like a river. “Solutions” for many people’s problems are too easily implemented, top down by the powerful few. Too often these solutions ignore the suffering of others or posit death solutions like abortion, euthanasia or the ghettoization of the unnecessary.

The constructs of Western Culture that once regarded as hallmarks of civilization are deteriorating before our eyes. My hope is that all Catholics insist principles that flow from the commandment to love God and to love another are again incorporated into our government’s policies.

Summer vacation came to end for me when I opened last Sunday’s Democratand Chronicle and was confronted with the question of whether or not Antonio Perez and team are appropriate to lead Kodak out of bankruptcy. On Tuesday, I read that the courts have ruled that the turnaround team will indeed be eligible for performance basedbonuses to the tune of 8 million dollars.

So let me make sure that I understand this. The gentlemen and ladies who bankrupted Eastman Kodak may continue to draw salaries and bonuses (that would be cash) out of the business. The people most recently responsible for wrecking the company will continue to pull assets from the very same corporation.

Wow.

The only way to interpret such a suggestion as anything other than chutzpah beyond belief is to realize that Antonio Perez and team are being rewarded by people who see a job well done. Consider the following.

At the end of 2011, Kodak had less than half of its worldwide workforce of 17,809 working in the United States and only 5,129 of them working in Rochester. Where are the majority of Kodak employees working and what are they are doing? The plants in England and France are closed. Maybe the workers are assemblers in an “emerging economy” being paid very little, for long hours, in countries where safety and environmental standards aren’t very well developed. Perceive this as a victory for keeping manufacturing costs low, very low, and a formula for keeping executive salaries high, not to mention bonuses.

Tens of thousands of Kodak jobs were eliminated since Mr. Perez joined the business in 2003. Do you recall early lay off packages from Kodak? Bridge payments to former employees until they reached pension eligibility. Two weeks separation salary for each year worked for displaced workers. In the year preceding my software engineer husband’s 2008 separation from Kodak due to death, he and his team, a team that included highly skilled engineers and PHD scientists, the people who produced the patents being auctioned today, were given tasks like emptying their own waste paper baskets and disassembling office furniture. No separation package was offered; demoralization is apparently a cheaper method of workforce reduction. Please recall that Mr. Perez was appointed to President Obama’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness in 2011. Such appointments can only be understood as occasions to share and expand management practices viewed with favor.

The company was brought to bankruptcy. This clever technique opens the door to new opportunities for our fine captains of industry. Those pesky legacy costs can be shed, costs like dental and health insurance, maybe survivor benefits or other costs that could impair the payment of salaries and bonuses to the elite of the company.

Sadly, I experience all of this as a preposterous insult to the former employees of a once iconic American company and to the members of Kodak’s corporate culture who were once known for commitment to stable jobs, living wages and profit sharing. Those people really embraced the concept of the dignity of work. So tell me, are Mr. Perez and his friends those we want in leadership? How you answer depends upon the type of world in which you want to live.

What do you suppose happens to the agnostics and atheists among us, when they are exposed to the name of God or are forced to tolerate religious behavior of believers? Maybe a severe reaction occurs, similar to that of the Wicked Witch of the West of Wizard of Oz fame, when she encountered water. Certainly that would account for the very odd “prayers” I heard at various commencements and graduations this year. That would explain the banishment of the G word by the people at universities now called “Deans of Chaplaincy Services.”

I guess a whole lot of intolerance has surfaced since I graduated from SUNY New Paltz in 1976. The majority of that student body identified themselves as Jewish; there was a Christian population, as well a smattering of students practicing Eastern religions and some very vocal atheists. Most students did not practice their faith in any formal way. But somehow, at our commencement, an invocation was offered that acknowledged a Creator of the universe, and solicited that Creator’s blessing and help as our graduating class entered the wider world.

Many of us, our parents, and our professors silently joined in that offered prayer, realizing that our adult lives would be full of joy and sorrow; accomplishment and mistakes; individuality and community. Prayers of commencement are, I believe, requests that the fledgling adults love and are loved through their lives and that their contributions are for good, not evil. No one, not even the atheists, seemed to leave our ceremony scarred.

Prayer, by its very nature, recognizes God, a being greater than us. That concept, cultivates humility, awareness that I and my perceptions, wants and needs are not necessarily the most worthy, virtuous or justifiable. Jewish and Christian understanding of God recognizes that it is the Creator who is the source of love and life, knowledgeable of the whole of truth. Judaic Christian ethics are the foundation of western civilization, and teach that by acting with justice, showing compassion, living in peace, we come to know both God and ourselves better. These ethics give us the guidelines necessary to judge between good and evil.

A disservice is done when “prayer” is directed to no being, but is used to merely acknowledge an experience of being together. When petitions to God for assistance in meeting the challenges of life with love and justice are replaced with boastful insistence that the graduating class is so gifted, insightful and educated that the world is theirs, arrogance is encouraged. The suggestion that all choices are equally valid denies the truth that we are fully capable of inflicting good and evil upon one another.

The mention of God has long been prohibited in the classrooms of our schools. The concept that our progress in the sciences, arts and humanities is the result of journeying towards the locus of all matter and being, God, is rarely taught these days. Government interference with the free expression of religion is accelerating with each passing week. Acceptance of all sorts of bizarre behavior is the rule of the day. Can we not insist that practices of those of us who seek and serve God in traditional ways be tolerated at our public celebrations? We who practice faith are members of the community too.

Governor Cuomo’s proposed establishment of the Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs is welcomed after the stories of maltreatment, injury and abuse of group home residents were exposed by the New York Times last year. Consistent standards for tracking and prevention of abuse and investigation and enforcement of standards can only serve to help the residents of state operated and state licensed homes live more safely in normalized environments. I hope that the Legislature will make the Justice Center a reality, but my experience tells me that such a Center is only part of the solution needed to ensure the well being of the most vulnerable among us.

I began a 14 year tenure working with and for the developmentally disabled population of NYS in 1977. As Program Coordinator for Wassaic Developmental Center’s Main Workshop, a major contract was the collation of the policy manual of OMRDD. It was a time of optimism. No longer would developmentally disabled people be confined to dormitory/day room residences. It was no longer permissible for an attendant to inflict a bruise on a resident with the swat of a “big key”, the large sub-master keys that kept the residents locked in and the eyes of the community locked out.

Community residences and vocational programs were established throughout the state. Parents who cared for their special needs children through childhood and adolescence looked forward to their children living adult lives in the community. Direct care staffing was sufficient in number to assist in teaching skills as well as attending to needs. Professional teams assessed and recommended appropriate treatment plans to maximize independence.

It wan not all idyllic,even then, though. As an administrator of group homes for West Seneca DDSO I had a staff member accused of client sexual abuse. Another staff member was dismissed for stealing from the clients’ personal funds. When each of these incidents surfaced, a report was filed and the administrative chain of command acted, immediately involving law enforcement as the situations required. The then Commission for Quality of Care, became aware of the situation only when they visited and inspected some time later. That organization did not expect that incidences wouldn’t happen, only that they were dealt with appropriately.

Those incidences were dealt with appropriately because of several factors. First, the allegations of serious incidents came to the ears of those responsible to address such allegations. Throughout the West Seneca DDSO, first line administrators were expected to share an evening meal at least once every two weeks with the residents and staff of the group home. Comfortable relationships were fostered with personnel that were not in the closed system of direct care staff and residents at the homes. This allowed for the reporting and discussion of difficult situations with supervisory personnel by both staff and residents.

Neighborhood Advisory Boards were mandatory. The Boards consisted of neighbors and members such as pastors, volunteer firefighters and other community members. Meeting were held quarterly at the residence, where as a matter of course, resident/staff interaction could be observed and note of the physical conditions of the homes could be made. Again the residents had access to people outside the system, even if their own families were unavailable to them.

Third, the administration of that DDSO was very committed to the concept of normalization, so when an incident was reported, they followed through in the same manner as if such an incident had occurred to any other member of the community. The staff reporting the incident was supported and efforts were made to change the conditions that allowed the incident to occur in the first place.

When I moved to Honeoye Falls in 1985, there was a home in the village providing housing for people recently discharged from psychiatric institutions. The environment within the home was poor; the residents were fearful of the staff and some of the other residents. No effort was made to integrate the residents into the community. I wrote to the Office of Mental Health at the time, suggesting that implementation of some of the policies just mentioned would help ensure the safety of the residents. I was politely thanked; I do not know what happened.

I reiterate that I am happy about the proposal for the Justice Center, but an external enforcement agency will never be able have the positive impact on residents lives that sufficient staffing, proper supervisory expectations and actions and neighborhood connectedness has. I hope that the way the homes of our most vulnerable NYS residents are managed reverts to the practices that made our homes the finest in the nation, if not the world.

In a recent Editorial Page article, Sr. Christine Wagner, SSJ and Ms. Susan Aiello, the respective administrators of the St. Joseph Neighborhood Center and Mercy Outreach Center, advocated for continued the implementation of Affordable Care Act of 2010 despite its “flaws”. Sr. Wagner and Ms. Aiello acknowledge that there is a rift in our society about health care reform.

It disappointments then, that these two women, so well acquainted with the unmet needs of the un- and under-insured, do not seek to assist in healing one of those “rifts” by tossing at least a nod of understanding, if not support, for the position of the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops on the Individual Mandate. Recall that the Individual Mandate forces employers to provide coverage for artificial contraception, drugs that cause early abortion and sterilization.

The USCCB’s objection to the Individual Mandate is grounded in the Obama administration’s violation of the constitutionally protected right of religious freedom. But the Obama administration’s insistence on coverage for pharmaceuticals and practices deemed morally objectionable in Roman Catholic teaching calls attention to other problems such policies cultivate.

It is time that all involved in providing a preferential options for the poor and marginalized recognize that the problems encountered by the long time residents of our inner cities and those most recently booted from the working/middle class are not just a resource issues.

Over forty years ago, Daniel Patrick Moynihan predicted what would happen to African American communities when the traditional family structure disappeared. Communities become comprised of children living without stable families; women with high rates of abortion; children residing with a succession of biological fathers of half siblings; and high rates of sexually transmitted diseases among everyone. Today, Charles Murray describes similar occurrences in the lower classes of white America in his current book, Coming Apart. The results of the living in these communities are all too familiar: child abuse and neglect; domestic and street violence; low literacy rates; high substance abuse rates; high unemployment; sickness and premature death.

Government promotion and societal acceptance of policies like abortion on demand; distribution of condoms to minors in our public schools; and mandated contraception coverage assist in the perpetuation of the lie that sexual expression may be just another aspect of a casual relationship. The ineffectiveness of all the birth control, save sterilization, results in lots of victims: the wounded mothers; the absent fathers; the children who live in the most unstable of environments; and of course the aborted babies.

The problems of the poor and needy are legion to be sure. Foundational to those problems however, include the disintegration of family life and the acceptance of personal irresponsibility as a life style. When sexuality is promoted as something less than the powerful force of bonding and procreation that it is,which is best expressed in marriage, one may anticipate serious, societal problems.

Insistence from people like Ms. Aiello and Sr. Wagner that the federal government accommodate conscience protection on matters of life and death and advocacy for sane policies around sexuality would go a long way to healing the rifts in society and allowing health care reform to advance.

For many years now, I am alternately saddened and angered by what happens to the poor children of our area’s central city. Admittedly, my involvement is peripheral to the actual day to day lives of the children and adults. But in the last twenty five years, I have seen enough through involvement with Charles Settlement House; as an administrator for a Welfare-to-Work program; as a volunteer for projects organized by my faith community and my work with the Diocese of Rochester, to have gained some insight into the problems and have some thoughts about solutions.

Among the basic needs required by each of us to live, much less thrive, is adequate shelter. I had a real eye opener during my tenure as a Welfare-to-Work administrator in 1999-2000. First, it seemed apparent that someone was dramatically benefiting from the subsided housing of most welfare recipients. It sure wasn’t the adults and children, who were housed in what at best, would be called shabby housing; for most, what would likely be called dumps by any of us privileged to live in decent housing. Most surprising were the rents.

The rents were comparable to those found at suburban apartment complexes with amenities or the monthly costs of thirty year mortgages for modest homes. Almost all of the landlords required renter contributions in addition to the social services allocations. Addresses changed constantly as renters fell behind in their contributions or they were de-certified to receive benefits by the Department of Social Services. A situation that has stuck with me for more than a decade was as follows.

Unlike most of households that we dealt with, several school age children resided with both biological parents in a home that was being subsidized by Social Services. The father was intermittently employed at minimum wage jobs. The mother was placed in a cleaning job at the Convention Center at night, a hard, low paying job. For five months, the family appeared to be on their way to becoming a Welfare-to-Work success story. Suddenly, the mother advised us that she could no longer get to work because the family was moving. Their benefits were cut off because the father has failed to report income from a temporary job that had lasted a few weeks the preceding June. The landlord wanted the rent and so the family had to find immediately available housing on the other side of town. Conversation with Social Services, after many calls to full voice mailboxes, failed to resolve the situation. The family moved, the kids changed schools and life went on. One of the family’s options was for the father to leave the home.

Just my returning to work outside the home impacted my children; I could not imagine how the children of the referenced family were going to deal with the changes in their lives. Parents already preoccupied with providing, complying with the demands of the system that was supposed to be helping them to become independent, now had all the chores and tension of moving with no resources. The kids got to abruptly deal with new school; new teacher; new classmates; new routines in what was a more dangerous neighborhood. I suspect that those kids may be among the students that stop having the energy, motivation or support to continue to deal with the classroom.

Perhaps leniency on the reporting requirements of social services clients for people trying to do the right thing or restructuring the system so that vast amounts of time, attention to detail and energy are not constantly required for compliance by families would assist our children in being educated.

It is my hope that the investigative journalism of the D&C will help to break done the barriers to broad success by the majority of City School District students. But the problems that impede a child’s education are not limited to what occurs in a classroom or a tutoring session. Unless there is a holistic re-appraisal of how we frame the problems, seek solutions and rebuild the community, I fear we will have just some more heart breaking reports.

In yesterday’s (March 27) Democrat and Chronicle, Michael Gerson of the Washington Post seems to agree with the 38 percent of Americans surveyed by the Pew Research Center that there is “too much expression of religious faith and prayer from political leaders.” This is a ten point increase from a similar survey conducted in 2010. I’d like to suggest that Mr. Gerson’s comments may be of the genre that leads to an increase of Americans’ rejection of faith in the public square.

Mr. Gerson accuses former GOP presidential candidates Perry and Bachman of reducing evangelical Christianity to a “pathetic caricature” because of their respective discussions of school prayer and objections to requirements for school children to receive the Gardasil vaccine for sexually transmitted disease. Rick Santorum is criticized for being too “pre-Vatican II Catholic,” whatever that means. Disdain appears to be expressed for Catholic support of Mitt Romney in Ohio. And he wraps up his criticism of Republican candidates by finding it hard to imagine them as being in the same “political universe” as social reformers of old who championed an end to slavery and reform of asylums for the mentally ill.

Perhaps it is a limited understanding of Judaeo-Christian ethics that led Mr. Gerson to make his case. William Wilberforce and Lord Shaftesbury were in the political universe where they proclaimed persistently, that each member of our species Homo sapiens is created with an equal right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Regardless of the social resistance and political scorn encountered during years of struggle, they each proclaimed that our fellow human beings, regardless of the genetics that determine physical attributes or disease that ravages the ability of an individual to fully function, have moral relevance and inherent dignity. They insisted that the citizenry look and see the injustice of highly abusive, sometimes profitable and very barbaric practices that were continuing in a supposedly advanced culture.

Forces in our culture are hostile to concepts like:

Humans are to be understood as spiritual as well as physical beings created by a loving God.

A family structure consisting of parents with the intention of lifelong commitment is most capable of welcoming, educating and raising children.

Sexual expression between lifelong committed partners is far more likely to be healthy physically, emotional, and spiritually and consequently should be encouraged in public policies.

That the moral relevancy of every member of the human family is the reason that policies like adequate compensation for labor and health care access for all are justifiable.

It is not the candidates that create caricatures of religion or deconstruct political comments to make themselves appear narrow and stupid. The denial of the ethics that have underpinned civilization for 3500 years and obfuscation of the remarks that advance this perspective by those interpreting candidates for the public cause that.

While giving testimony before Congress last Thursday, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius made the statement, “Providing contraception is a critical preventive health benefit for women and for their children.” She was referring, no doubt, to the claim that a woman is less likely to experience health problems when not pregnant than when she is carrying and delivering a baby. This is probably true given that during pregnancy one person’s body is providing life for two. But wait, as they say in made for television product advertising, perhaps there is more.

Contraception, marketed as an effective means of avoiding pregnancy, is really most effective at creating the illusion that recreational sex can be separated from serious sex. With diminished prospects for the conception of a child, and with knowledge that if a pregnancy occurs the developing baby can be terminated, there appears to be no real need to acknowledge the profound nature of the intimacy and creativity of sexuality. But an illusion is what it is, and neither a woman’s health is advanced nor is her child’s by the ever expanding distribution of contraception.

Consider the following. More than one half of the 3 million unplanned pregnancies in America each year are experienced bywomen using a contraceptive method. This cannot be construed as effective. Approximately one half of the unplanned children will be destroyed, definitely not very good for their health. And over a million and a half women each year will either have the risks associated with child bearing or abortion, in addition to the risks associated with the contraceptives themselves. What are those contraceptive risks?

Most women are familiar with the risks of the hormonal birth control that are discounted because of the supposed minimal numbers of actual victims of these pharmaceuticals. Discounted, that is, unless you just had a mastectomy, or attended the funeral of a woman who died unexpectedly from a cerebral hemorrhage. Or you’re the surviving parent of children whose mother expired from a heart attack. Do you know though, that some contraceptives also put you at greater risk for sexually transmitted disease if your partner is infected?

Hormonal methods – oral pills, patches and shots are associated with changes that make the reproductive tract more vulnerable to infections like Chlamydia and HIV and may generally suppress the immune system. Intrauterine devices increase the risk of pelvic inflammatory disease. Condoms break or fall off between two and six per cent of the time and are not effective against transmission of HPV. And according to the National Cancer Institute, a woman who defers pregnancy until later in life increases her risk of breast cancer. Now how is this good for women’s health?

Everyone’s children will be affected by the expansion of free birth control that fails over 50% of the time and increases risk of sexually transmitted infections. Much ado is being made right now about the health impacts of the endocrine disruptor BPA found in plastic. Equally disturbing are the health effects attributable to estrogen in our water supply that is excreted in the urine of women using hormonal birth control. According to the CDC, direct medical costs in 2009 associated with STDs are estimated at $17 billion annually. This does not take into account factors such as lost wages and productivity.

There is a lot of pretending around the issues of women, sex, motherhood, and freedom. On the point of freedom, contraception and back up abortion is not as much about liberating women to express their distinctly feminine assets as it is to encourage females to behave like immature males interested in immediate gratification with no associated responsibility. Little public attention is given to the great advances in the fertility awareness that make conception avoidance and achievement possible with benign consequences for women’s health and babies lives. The costs to the individual, family and society of this approach to sexuality is downplayed as the myth of an individual’s need to have sex whenever and wherever is promoted. It is a profitable myth.

But the truth is that sexuality is inately profound. Human life is conceived by it. Microscopic life is transmitted by it. Emotional bonding occurs with it. And, Ms. Sebelius, women’s and children’s health will not benefited by the government demanding that everyone in the country, even religious institutions, support the distribution and use of free birth control, abortifacient pharmaceuticals and sterilization.

The Obama administration’s intent to force institutional Catholic employers to include birth control, abortifacient pharmaceuticals and sterilization coverage in their employees’ health insurance plans certainly generates a lot of conversation. Very strong opinions are expressed about religious freedom, the health care needs of women and the authority of government.

An argument that frequently surfaces in the public debate goes something like this, “When an institution receives government money, then the institution relinquishes its rights to deviate from government mandates. Supporting justification for this claim varies from odd applications of clauses of the first amendment; or the relationship between charitable institutions and tax law; or the lack of compliance of Catholics with Church teaching. Although the basic claim is faulty, it is oft repeated as truth, probably because of a misunderstanding of how commodities like health care and private education are funded.

It is illustrative to walk through an example using health care to get a better understanding of the relationship between government funding and private institutions.

A patient goes to a hospital. For clarity sake let’s call the patient Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith’s charges are a result of the medical care he receives, the cost of medicines and the costs of construction and administration of the hospital itself. Mr. Smith receives his bill upon discharge. If Mr. Smith has health insurance, the insurance company will pay the amount of the charges identified by his insurance contract and Mr. Smith will pay the rest. If Mr. Smith is over the age of 65, one of his major insurers will be Medicare. If he is indigent, his insurer may be Medicaid. If Mr. Smith is not elderly, is not indigent and does not have any health insurance, then Mr. Smith will be responsible for whole bill from his personal funds. It is important to follow this you see, because it is Mr. Smith who entered into a contractual relationship with the hospital. It is Mr. Smith’s resources that will fulfill the contract regardless of the origin of the resources, be it private insurance, public insurance programs like Medicare and Medicaid or the patient’s own funds.

Our patient made a choice to receive care at a particular institution using the resources available to him. We cannot say nor should we judge Mr. Smith’s reasons for his choice. But certainly his choice and that of other patients to use a particular institution is not tantamount to justification for government management of the institution because some patients’ resources include government insurance programs.

We live in a nation that glorifies choice as a supreme right to be exercised in everything from the selection of the most elemental consumer product to determining whether a developing baby will live or die. It is peculiar to me why then, when some people and the institutions they form, choose not participate in all activities deemed permissible by the government, the choice is perceived as subversive.

Next, I will look at the issue of women’s health care needs and health insurance mandates.

So this is my first blog entry as a member of the 2012 Board of Contributors. A bit of a heady honor, I think. A little overwhelming, as well. I never wrote to publish twice weekly before. Wait, this might be demanding - did I say I’d do this?

Several of my friends and my sons for sure, were really happy that this opportunity arose for me. I suspect that in addition to their genuine congratulations, they also think this writing may distract me from seeking their perspectives on interesting ideas or running my thoughts by them on the issues of the day. To them I say, no such luck. Blessed with articulate, thoughtful friends from diverse walks of life and fortunate to have educated, reflective children, this will only encourage me to seek and share our opinions. My dear late husband facetiously used to call it my “unending search for light dinner conversation.”

No topic assigned for which I am responsible to convey written thought is making me think hard about subjects to address. Life issues are what I know best. Life experience has taught me that with the blink of an eye, a person may become critically aware that some seemingly remote decision made by those in government and industry can have tremendous impact upon a person’s life. Faith in God and the love of family and friends are what sustains me. This I suppose puts me in the good company of many others.

It’s my hope that some of the topics I address over the next year might contribute to positive dialogue about the great and little issues we face each day. I welcome ideas and feedback. Thank you for reading.

Editorial Board

I am a lifelong reader of the D&C, so I’m particularly honored to lend my voice to the Editorial Board. As a registered conservative and strong advocate of free market economics, it is likely that I will bring an alternate view to the discussion, so I applaud the D&C for asking me aboard.

My passion about economics and politics first emanated from our family dinner-table discussions growing up in Brighton, where no topic was off limits. After graduating from Brighton High School and then from Middlebury College as an economics major, I started my career with Case Hoyt, a once nationally recognized printing company based in Rochester. I relocated to Philadelphia, Washington and then Boston to attend Harvard Business School before happily moving back home just as my wife and I were starting a family.

I have actively engaged in various volunteer leadership roles at the Wilmot Cancer, St. Thomas More Church and now Rochester Prep Charter School and the Kilian Schmitt Foundation.

Personally, my wife, Caroline, and I have three grown children who have all left the area for college as well as to start their work careers.

I have lived in Rochester, both in the city and the suburbs, for most of my life. I have a degree from Roberts Wesleyan College in religion and philosophy, and I currently work for the Volunteers of America as a case manager for families who receive the Shelter Plus Care housing grant.

I live in the town of Chili with my husband and my sons, Gavin and Troy. Spending time with them is my favorite thing to do. My husband, Scott, owns a small sales and marketing company.

I love Rochester and am actively involved in the community. I serve on several boards and committees, including the Chili Parks and Recreation Committee. Recently I accepted the role of president of the Monroe County Republican Women (a non party-funded organization). Lastly, I am the director of The Bridge, a developing nonprofit that promotes sustainable homeless outreach efforts and organizes bipartisan discussions on issues related to poverty.

I am passionate about seeking out lasting solutions to poverty and bridging the political and cultural gaps. Find me on Twitter (@annaiseman), Facebook, or in future D&C discussions.

Board of Contributors

I manage an educational project for RIT, and teach as an adjunct professor at Nazareth College and the Warner School of Education. In an earlier life, I directed a modern dance company and worked as a teaching artist in schools. I hold a PhD in education with a focus on arts, curriculum and teaching. My areas of interest are education, politics and the arts. I plan to share perspectives on the current changes taking place in the field of education, and have a special interest in political art. I hope to stimulate good discussions in these areas through blogging and guest interviews.

My name is Makenzie Marino and I'm a 16-year-old junior at Our Lady of Mercy High School. I've been writing since I was 7. Writing is my passion; it's the way I express myself and my creativity. As a member of the board I hope to educate people in Rochester on events going on in our area and also bring to people's attention topics that maybe they'd look over otherwise. Also, I hope to learn things myself and be educated by other board members, and by visitors that will be showing up to the meetings. I hope to bring forth positive energy and educate people around me.

I was born and raised in central New York. I earned a bachelor's degree from SUNY Brockport, and now gladly call the Flower City home. I’m a married mother of three young children who keep me on my toes. I write a Blog, From Playgrounds to Politics, which often focuses on hot-button topics as well as about parenting, education, current events, political punditry and entertainment news. I have blogged for the Democrat and Chronicle for several years, focusing local issues and public schools. Follow me on Twitter @Mango1531. As a Board of Contributors member, I hope to write in no-holds-barred style about social topics within our community.

I’m a transplanted New Englander, who has resided with my family in Rochester’s 19th Ward for over 20 years. I left a career in book publishing when I moved from the Boston area, and then got my master’s in education at Nazareth College. I have taught in local schools and am currently an adjunct teacher at The Strong’s National Museum of Play. I write fiction and memoir, volunteer in my neighborhood library, love to travel, coordinate an Exploring Post in health careers, and am a staunch advocate for children.

I retired as Rochester’s commissioner of Community Development in 2009. I’m the co-founder of Eugenio María de Hostos Charter School and serve as the volunteer CEO/chairman of the board. I also serve on five other boards. I was president and CEO of Ibero-American action League from 1993 to 2006. From 1987 to 1990, I owned and operated a Super Duper in the city, and worked briefly as a Spanish teacher. I have a bachelor of science degree in social service administration from SUNY Empire State College and a master’s degree in education from The College at Brockport. I am the author of “Journey of Puerto Rican Jíbaro,” a memoir.

As a life-long resident of Rochester, I am honored and humbled to be selected for the Board of Contributors. It is my hope that through this forum, I will have the opportunity to engage in dialogue that will uplift, inspire and challenge others to contribute to the economic, social, emotional/mental and spiritual health needs of Monroe County’s neediest residents. It is disheartening to me that Rochester is one of the poorest cities in this nation. We all have a part in this universe to offer a hand up and not a hand out. I’m married to my high school sweetheart and we are blessed to share three awesome children.

I work as a shipping and receiving clerk in Rochester. I look forward to being on the Board of Contributors and taking part in discussions of issues facing Rochester in 2014. I intend to add a pragmatic, moderate voice and concentrate on solutions and successes. Beyond the liberal/conservative gridlock there are pragmatic solutions upon which a majority can agree. The moderate majority is not as vocal as extremists to the left and right and this makes moderates easy to ignore. I look forward to being part of the Democrat and Chronicle's effort to contribute to the quality of life in this community.

I grew up in the Rochester area, attended PS35, graduated from Brighton High School, then attended SUNY College at Geneseo and the University of Chicago and earned his PhD at Northwestern University. A lifelong educator, child advocate and bestselling author of books and articles on leadership, collaboration, and education reform, I’ve been a middle school teacher, high school coach, school board member, college professor, dean of education at four universities, distinguished visiting scholar, community-based and regional nonprofit executive, education advisor to Chicago Mayor Harold Washington, member of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, and associate superintendent of education for the State of Ohio. I currently am vice president for community programs at the Rochester Area Community Foundation.

As an active Community Member on the Democrat and Chronicle Editorial Board in 2013, and a division sales manager of a consumer company prior to that, I hope to stay involved with current events on the Board of Contributors, weighing in with my unique perspective on issues and headlines in 2014. A former United States Marine Corps Officer, and current retired "East Side Suburbanite," I feel that my "conservative-leaning" voice represents a part of the community that deserves to be heard.

I am a lay associate pastor at Spiritus Christi Church and a nurse of 28 years. In my role as associate pastor, I lead racial justice work, welcome new members and facilitate diversity within our ministeries. I am looking forward to being a board contributor so that I might engage in the conversations and topics this community most cares about to forge unity. It is my hope that, together, we join our visions and perspectives to examine what is, and lean in to shape ultimately what could be. If we do that I am hopeful that we will embody the "One City" Rochester mantra we all envision.

I am a third-year journalism and political science student at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Being a native of Rochester has carved within me a passion for urban life and a desire to fully understand the complexity of the many issues Rochesterians face. I care most about education, youth, race and poverty, and have blogged for the Democrat and Chronicle’s Unite Rochester initiative. I am very excited to be offering my voice through the Board of Contributors and I hope to spark some great conversations with the rest of my community.